The system of government in Iran is a telling example of the condition of the existing systems of government in the Muslim lands. Loyalty to the colonialist and providing services to him are linked to their leaders and those in the upper ranks. As for the remaining components of the state and the real centres of power, such as the army, institutions, and the people of authority and influence, they differ from the upper ranks who are tied to the colonialist and whose responsibility is to keep the Muslim lands subjugated to him, either as dependent client states, as is the case with most Muslim lands, or as a state operating within the colonialist’s orbit, as Iran did before the war.

America’s president, Trump, said that Washington may have gone too far in targeting prominent Iranian leaders during its latest confrontation with Iran. He acknowledged that this had made it difficult to determine who was authorised to negotiate and make decisions inside Iran. During a Republican Party campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Trump said that America “may have gone too far” in targeting Iranian leaders, arguing that it would have been better to stop at earlier stages of the escalation. He added: “We might have gone too far with the leaders because we don't know who the hell we're dealing with anymore.”

This is what Trump expressed openly. What he left unsaid, however, is that he regrets eliminating the leaders who were content to let the country operate within America’s orbit, providing services for it in the Levant, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Gulf in exchange for America taking some of Iran’s interests into consideration. He assumed that those who came after them would accept Iran becoming entirely subordinate and submissive to America. However, he was surprised when the first strike eliminated most of the first, second, and third ranks of leadership, as he had previously claimed. They were then replaced by leaders seeking to break free from America’s control and escape its orbit, alongside those remaining from the previous leadership who were accustomed to operating within America’s sphere of influence. This has left America in its current state of confusion, unable, to date, to resolve matters in its favour as it had hoped.

There is a lesson here for all those working for change, and a source of hope for those who have lost hope in the centres of power in the Muslim lands. We have repeatedly stated that the Ummah’s predicament lies in the upper ranks that hold the reins of power in government and the army. Beyond those ranks stand the Ummah, with its forces, its sincere people, and all the goodness within it. These people need only a little more courage and boldness to give their support to Hizb ut Tahrir, the pioneering party who does not lie to its people, and which is capable of leading the Muslim lands towards liberation and freedom from the yoke and clutches of colonialism. Thus, we may once again become a mighty and honourable Ummah that leads the world and brings all forces of arrogance and oppression to heel.

So come forth, officers and commanders of the armies of the Muslims, to give support to Islam and the Muslims, and to free yourselves, your families, and your lands from regimes of collaboration and subservience, and from rulers of disgrace and humiliation.

The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir